Smartphones May Soon Charge Wirelessly

Published 1:18 pm, Monday, December 31, 2012

There may be another patent storm brewing. Just a few weeks after the Apple vs. Samsung touchscreen patent war drew to a close, another salvo of copyright litigation may be about to kick off. However this time the tech battle is over a bit of gadgetry recently patented by Apple that most people think of as science fiction: wireless electronic charging.

The technology has the potential to be as impressive as it sounds. You know the terrible feeling of helplessness you get when you see your phone's battery charge edging into the red? How long will it last? Will I be able to find my way home when this map drains the battery? With wireless electronic charging, that feeling can be a story for your grandkids. Not to mention I am running out of drawers to stash the plethora of little dongley things that I can't remember whether I need or not. Widespread adoption of wireless charging can not come soon enough.

The catch here is that many devices on the market, such as the Samsung Galaxy S3 phone (available through carriers like T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon and AT&T), Apple’s biggest smartphone rival, already use this technology. So how can Apple claim to have invented something that has already been in use for some time?

Devices like the Galaxy S3 use a type of wireless charging technology called inductive charging. This technology was largely developed by an independent consortium called The Alliance for Wireless Power, of which Samsung is a member. Inductive charging requires devices to charge in a very small field, and in many cases, requires devices to be touching. Sure it is nice to do away with one cable, but you still have to plug in the charging station and leave your phone on your desk to charge. Not to mention that to date, inductive chargers usually only charge one device at a time.

Apple patent 20120303980 , titled “Wireless Power and Utilization in a Local Computing Environment” is not the same. It uses Near Field Magnetic Resonance (NFMR), a technology that allows any device equipped with a NFMR chip to charge as long as it is within one meter of the power source. That changes a lot.

Imagine, no more batteries in your keyboard or mouse. No more keeping three different chargers in your bag or car. Truly wireless printing. The end of power strips and economizing USB real estate. Not to mention it would be marginally better for the environment. At least you’ll be keeping all those batteries out of landfills and ultimately, if you get your power from a green source like wind or solar, a largely fossil fuel free computing system.

So why the battle? It is clear that this technology isn't new. In 2008, a company called WiPower filed a patent that covers the concept of wireless charging as a whole. Through a series of acquisitions, WiPower's patents would eventually become the basis for the technology developed by The Alliance for Wireless Power. The question is then: Are Apple's modifications to the existing technology substantial enough to justify patenting it as an entirely "new" technology?

Regardless of who wins, it is exciting to see this kind of technology coming to market. The faster it gets sorted out, the better. Preferably before the little blinking battery light on my keyboard gives ou—.